Short answer: If a semi or another large truck hit you in Ann Arbor or anywhere in Washtenaw County, your own auto policy or a household policy pays your medical bills and lost wages first under Michigan no-fault (MCL 500.3114(1)). The driver and the motor carrier answer for pain and suffering and for losses above your PIP limits; for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight must carry at least $750,000 of liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9), a floor rather than a value. Interstate truck drivers are limited to 11 hours of driving after 10 hours off duty (49 CFR 395.3), and the logs that show it only have to be kept six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)). The lawsuit is due within three years (MCL 600.5805). Koussan Law handles Ann Arbor truck accident claims on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Washtenaw County truck crash numbers
From 2019 through 2024, 17 people were killed in 15 Washtenaw County crashes involving a large truck, 7 of them on I-94 or US-23. Trucks and buses are a larger share of crash traffic here than in Kent, Oakland, Macomb or Ingham County: 4.4 percent of the vehicles in 2025 crashes, 738 in all, 105 of them in crashes that injured someone.
| People killed | 17 in 15 crashes |
|---|---|
| On I-94 or US-23 | 7 of 15 |
| After dark | 7 of 15, 47% (statewide 28%) |
| Involving a truck-tractor (a semi) | 10 of 15 |
| Killed who were in the truck | 5 of 17, 29% (statewide 13%) |
| People killed by year, 2019 to 2024 | 4, 2, 4, 4, 0, 3 |
NHTSA FARS, 2019 to 2024. Statewide comparisons are Michigan as a whole over the same years. A large truck is a medium or heavy truck over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating: a single-unit truck, a truck-tractor (semi) or another medium or heavy truck (FARS body types 60 to 64, 66, 71, 72 and 78).
| Reported crashes | 9,652 |
|---|---|
| Crashes with injuries | 1,591 |
| People injured | 2,115 |
| People killed | 26 |
| Trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds in crashes | 738 (105 in injury crashes, 3 in fatal crashes) |
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 Washtenaw County profile (Michigan State Police crash data, compiled by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute).
Two things set Washtenaw apart. Nearly half its fatal truck crashes happened after dark, against 28 percent statewide, and 5 of the 17 people killed were in the truck itself, more than twice the statewide share. Both fit long-haul freeway driving, which is where the federal limits on driving hours come in.
The hours-of-service rules on I-94 and US-23
A property-carrying truck driver on an interstate run must follow the federal hours-of-service limits (49 CFR 395.3):
- 10 consecutive hours off duty before driving.
- No driving after the 14th hour since coming on duty.
- No more than 11 hours of driving in that window.
- A 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
- No driving after 60 hours on duty in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days, until a 34-hour restart.
Separately, no driver may drive, and no carrier may require or permit anyone to drive, while the driver's ability or alertness is impaired by fatigue, illness or any other cause (49 CFR 392.3). The electronic logs that show compliance must be kept for at least six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)). In a night crash on US-23 the logs, fuel receipts, dispatch messages and phone records are how fatigue is proved, and a preservation letter should go to the carrier in the first days.
Who pays after an Ann Arbor truck crash?
PIP from your own auto policy, or a policy of a relative you live with, pays medical care and wage loss regardless of fault (MCL 500.3114(1)). The tort claim against the truck's side covers pain and suffering once the injury meets Michigan's threshold (MCL 500.3135(1)) and medical bills or wage loss above the PIP limits (MCL 500.3135(3)(c)). Besides the driver, that claim can reach the motor carrier, the owner of the tractor or trailer (MCL 257.401) and the companies that loaded or maintained it. A carrier that leases an owner-operator's truck must have exclusive possession, control and use of it for the lease term (49 CFR 376.12), so an "independent contractor" label does not by itself end the inquiry.
The ticket is not the case
Michigan does not allow a traffic conviction or civil infraction finding to be used as evidence in the civil case (MCL 257.731), so the claim rests on the evidence itself: the engine control module and any event data, the electronic logs, forward and driver-facing cameras, the post-crash drug and alcohol test results (49 CFR 382.303), the driver qualification file and the police reconstruction. Some of it has federal retention periods measured in months; some has none and may be overwritten.
Talk to a lawyer about an Ann Arbor truck crash
Koussan Law represents people hurt in Washtenaw County truck crashes, and families who lost someone in one, on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win. Our main office is in Detroit at 821 W Milwaukee St. Call (313) 800-0000 or request a free consultation. For a rough sense of value first, the case value calculator takes about a minute.
Ann Arbor truck accident questions
What are the hours-of-service limits for truck drivers?
For property carriers under 49 CFR 395.3: 10 hours off duty before driving, no driving after the 14th hour on duty, at most 11 hours of driving, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and 60 or 70 hours in 7 or 8 days before a 34-hour restart.
The crash happened at night on US-23. Does fatigue matter?
It can. Federal rules bar driving while fatigue impairs a driver's alertness and bar carriers from requiring or permitting it. Fatigue is proved with the electronic logs, receipts, dispatch messages and phone records, which should be preserved quickly.
The driver was an owner-operator. Is the trucking company still responsible?
Often it can be. Federal safety rules treat a contractor driver as an employee for safety purposes while operating a commercial vehicle, and a leased truck must be under the carrier's exclusive possession and control during the lease. The lease and the facts decide it.
How fast do I need to act?
Within days on the evidence: hours-of-service records need only be kept six months and inspection reports three, and video may be overwritten sooner. The PIP notice is due within one year and the lawsuit within three years.
More for Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County
- Ann Arbor personal injury lawyer: Washtenaw County courts and every case type
- Michigan truck accident lawyer
- Ann Arbor car accident lawyer
- Lansing truck accident lawyer: the records a carrier must keep
- Why Michigan truck accident cases are different
Sources
- NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national data files for 2019 to 2024; the 2024 file is the most recent release and may be revised. County and city figures computed by Koussan Law from the crash, vehicle and person files.
- Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2025 county profiles and the 2025 Traffic Crash Summary for County/Communities.
- Michigan Compiled Laws, legislature.mi.gov: MCL 500.3114, 500.3135, 257.401, 257.731, 600.5805.
- Code of Federal Regulations, title 49: 376.12, 382.303, 387.9, 392.3, 395.3, 395.8 (eCFR).
Updated October 18, 2026. General information about Michigan law, not legal advice for your situation; the deadlines and coverage rules that apply to you depend on your facts and your policy.
